Children's Home run by Monarch Intervention Services Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report children's home: 2624457 1 Registered provider: Monarch Intervention Services Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private company. It provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. There is a permanent manager at the home, who became registered in June 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were two children living at the home. Both children were present and spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector was aware, during this inspection, of a serious incident concerning a child that had occurred since the last inspection. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate incidents of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the incident were considered alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform the inspectors judgements.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 26 November 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2624457 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/11/2024 Full Good 13/12/2023 Full Good 28/06/2022 Full Good 08/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: 2624457 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, children have good experiences and make progress, despite some recent unsettlement at the home. Two children have moved on as part of their plans and in line with their wishes. Both children have continued to be supported by the same organisation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have moved on in unplanned ways. One child moved to the home, but their history and risks were not fully understood by managers. There was insufficient planning for this emergency admission, with no care planning documentation received and the child had not been seen or spoken with. Despite some initial progress in terms of staff building relationships with the child, this quickly broke down following a behavioural incident and immediate notice was served. This did not provide the child with a good experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help and encourage children to attend school. As a result, one child has recently completed their GCSE exams. Managers are proactive in liaising with education providers and the virtual school to help progress children's plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to access routine and specialist health care. They seek to understand children's barriers to this and help them to understand the importance of health care. Staff promote children's independence with medication and appointments. This helps children prepare for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are effective in building trusted relationships with the children. As a result, children often enjoy staff company and will choose to spend time talking to them about their feelings and experiences. Children who have moved on from the home are keen to keep in touch with favoured staff members, and this is agreed in their plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know children well and understand their individual needs and interests. They are adaptable to meet a range of needs. For example, a child who is relatively new to the home, needs high energy activities, so staff accommodate this. As a result, children enjoy activities in line with their interests and abilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff routinely consult with children enabling them to make choices around meals and activities, they are also encouraged to reflect upon their week. Staff have been curious and interested in one child’s religious beliefs, and choice to attend church. Staff are attuned to children’s emerging prejudices, and they talk to children to address this, promoting a better understanding of equality and diversity. Inspection report children's home: 2624457 4

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Managers make ongoing assessment of children's key risks, and their plans are updated to reflect this. As a result, children's risks are understood, and staff have clear guidance of what action to take to keep children safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff confidently talk to children to increase their awareness and ability to keep themselves safe. Managers seek involvement of external agencies to enhance children's learning opportunities. For example, the fire service, the community police and substance misuse specialists.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Allegations are taken seriously and there is a pragmatic approach being taken to managing allegations for a child who makes frequent allegations when they are upset and retracts them once calm. When children make complaints or allegations they are consistently provided with feedback. Managers share concerns with relevant safeguarding agencies.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There has been a high number of instances of children going missing. Staff consistently follow children's plans in response. Managers actively communicate with the local authority about risks. For one child who was staying away from the home, staff were diligent about conducting welfare checks to ensure that the child was safe and well. Managers communicated effectivelywith the social worker. This enables joint decision making to support the safety of the child.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Managers promote children's opportunities to take positive risks, in line with their age and abilities. For example, children have clear plans and agreements to help them safely manage and enjoy free time. They help children learn when this doesn’t go to plan, and revise agreements to strike a balance between independence and keeping safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff embed clear boundaries and rules at the home and strive to be consistent with this. As a result, children are aware of the expectations. Staff are very attentive to children, and they usually take timely action to de-escalate children's behaviour. However, there have been some serious behavioural incidents. Staff rely heavily on the guidance and support of managers in responding to children's behaviours, and for decision-making. The registered manager has recognised this and is taking steps to increase staff confidence and competence through further training and development.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The home is a large property that is welcoming and homely. However, a well in the garden has a broken mesh cover. Furthermore, one child's plan states a door alarm is in use for nighttime, this has been broken for over a month and there is no plan to mitigate this risk. Repairs to the environment are slow to be completed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report children's home: 2624457 5 The manager is relatively newly registered; she is very well supported by a competent deputy manager. They collaborate regularly about ideas and decision-making in respect of children and the home overall. In addition, there is a service manager and a responsible individual who are also very present and active in their roles. This results in a strong leadership and management team who are dedicated and invested in helping children to reach good outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been some staff changes, however, there is a core staff team that provide continuity of care for children. Staff are safely recruited, and some staff are within their induction period. There are currently no vacant posts. There is very occasional use of agency staff. When this is necessary, the staff member receives a suitable introduction to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers place a high emphasis on children’s views being integral to their care planning, and they actively spend time with children to engage them in this. This includes encouraging children to read and comment on their plans. As a result, children can reflect on their own progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive supervision that is supportive of their wellbeing and development. They are progressing with enrolling or completing qualifications, but there have been some delays in this that the manager is addressing. Staff receive training that contributes to equipping them for their roles. Their development is further enhanced through team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an open and reflective culture within the team. For example, following incidents for children, managers hold restorative reflections with staff. This supports staff well- being and jointly identifies any areas for learning and changes to children's plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff well-being is a key focus of managers; they understand the emotional impact of staff roles and experiences. The manager is utilising the home’s therapist in offering additional emotional support to staff. Inspection report children's home: 2624457 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home's statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that a realistic and thorough assessment is made in making decisions to admit children to the home.

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Requirement Due date

This includes managers ensuring that the statement of purpose reflects the home’s approach to admitting children to the home, specifically in relation to emergency admissions.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that children's care planning promotes a positive experience of moving on from the home. 30 November 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff have the capacity and competence to build constructive, warm relationships with children that actively promote positive behaviour, and provides the foundations for managing any negative behaviour. Staff should have the skills to respond to each child's individual behaviour. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.14) Inspection report children's home: 2624457 7  The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meet the needs of the children. The children’s home must comply with relevant health and safety legislations. This includes ensuring that the home is free from hazards, and that maintenance tasks and repairs are carried out in a timely way. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children's home: 2624457 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Monarch Intervention Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Glades, Festival Way, Festival Park, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST1 5SQ

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Inspector

Alison Snell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2624457 9 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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